Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus
by crystalline'maia
Summary: The Chamber of Secrets wasn’t just the only chamber filled with secrets in Hogwarts. There was also another chamber, one that kept all the knowledge and treasures of the four founders, and psychopathic Tom Riddle is trying to get it all.
1. Prologue

**Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus**

_a Harry Potter fanfiction, written by Lalardi and Maia.__ We neither own Harry Potter._

**Prologue**, _by Lalardi_

Warm afternoon sunlight streamed into the library, catching dust motes in swirling pillars between the quiet shelves.

It was late in the afternoon, and the grounds, bathed in the last of the October sunshine, were beckoning to the many seventh year students closeted in the library.

The silence was momentarily broken as a crumpled ball of parchment flew across one of the tables and bounced off a burly Gryffindor's head.

"Hey!" Alexander Potter snapped, looking up from the open book he had been staring at for the last quarter of an hour.

"You know, it'd go faster if you actually turned the pages once in a while," said a red haired boy who was sitting across from him.

"Yeah, well this is thick stuff. Whose idea was it to write an entire novel on the mating habits of firecrabs? And I thought they sounded somewhat interesting at first, with a violent name and all," said Alex, turning the book over to read the author's name on the dirty cover.

"Look, it's been so long since anyone was bored enough to open it that the cover's entirely faded," he said, scrutinizing the moldy leather.

The rest of the group laughed, but all quieted when the librarian stalked around the corner.

"Quiet back here! Students besides yourselves are attempting to use this library in peace!" she hissed at them, her wand held threateningly in her outstretched hand.

They quickly bent their heads over their books and waited until she had vanished back around the bookshelf.

"It'd be a great day for Quidditch. Wish we could go out for a while. This homework's making me crazy and we've only been back a couple of weeks. It could get worse," said the red haired boy said, leaning back in his chair to gaze longingly out the window. "Don't you think, Alex? Hey, Alex, what are you –"

"Shh, Victor," said Alex, barely glancing at the other boy.

Victor looked affronted. "What are you gawking at? Or have you suddenly reformed and joined league with the librarian?"

"No, eyeing someone he'd like to know the mating habits of. Your twin sister's a hard girl to catch, Vic," said a girl with short blond hair sitting beside Victor, looking wistfully at Alex, and then at the girl who had just entered the library.

"What?" yelped Victor, nearly upsetting his ink bottle.

"Don't get your wand in a knot, Vic, I was only looking," said Alex, dragging his eyes away from the entrance to the library, and glaring at the blond girl across the table before facing his friend.

"Yeah, well, hope all you want," sniggered Victor.

"Here's your chance, Alex," said the blond girl, hoping to appease Alex, who looked up to find the object of his stare looking back at them all.

She was tall and slender, with red hair that fell nearly to her waist. She was balancing a stack of textbooks, and eying their little group suspiciously, until Victor raised his hand and waved.

"Hey, Vicky!" he called. Alex gave a weak smile, and for a moment Victoria looked like she was going to say something.

"Did I not tell you to be quiet!" the librarian snapped, marching back around the corner.

By the time she had gone, the girl had vanished.

* * *

Setting her books on an empty table in the back of the library, Victoria Moon shook her head, thinking of her twin brother and his Gryffindor friends. She'd seen the librarian and was going to warn them, but hadn't been in time. _Still, they should have been more careful_, she thought, taking a seat and pulling parchment and quill out of her bag.

_Really, the mating habits of firecrabs, who came up with that?_ she thought as she reread her assignment_. Oh well, thinking about its stupidity wasn't going to help._

She's only been working for a few minutes when she heard a giggle from close by. Looking up, she saw a short girl that she recognized as a seventh year Hufflepuff, standing at the other end of the bookcase, staring around it at something that was apparently fascinating. Victoria glimpsed the girl's short blond hair as she ducked back to their side of the bookcase for a moment, before peering back around it.

Victoria quietly stood up and made her way around the table, then, curiosity getting the best of her, she peeked around her end of the shelf.

There was a boy on the other side, leaning against the opposite shelf, his eyes roaming a book that Victoria knew was a volume of _Hogwarts, A History_ without even having to see the cover.

Tall, handsome, his dark haired neatly combed, Tom Riddle seemed too enthralled in the book to notice that he was being comically stared at from two ends of a bookshelf.

Victoria quickly withdrew her head and walked down the aisle until she was standing behind the Hufflepuff girl, who didn't notice Victoria until she tapped her on the shoulder and said "Excuse me."

The girl jumped and gasped, spinning around to face Victoria, her startled brown eyes focusing on her accuser. Seeing who it was, her face slowly turned pink, as she said, "Yes?"

Victoria felt a strong urge to roll her eyes, but resisted. "You are?" she asked, keeping her voice low, so as not to alert Riddle, presumably still standing on the other side.

Still flushing, the girl said proudly, "Selena Smith, and I don't believe I know you either."

"Victoria Moon," she said, then continued before Selena Smith could say anything else, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could you be a little quieter? Some people are trying to study."

"Um, certainly. Sorry I disturbed you." Smith said sullenly. Turning on her heel, she marched away, looking disgruntled.

Victoria returned to her table, and sitting down, resumed her essay, putting both Smith and Riddle out of her mind.

* * *

Tom Riddle remained silent all through the two girls' conversation, though he could hear every word. He could tell that Moon was trying to keep the little exchange quiet, but Smith's voice carried like she was speaking to someone on the other side of the library.

_The girl didn't have the ability to keep quiet_, he thought, annoyed. Her insistent giggling had followed him around many corridors on evenings after dinner and free weekends, and it was all he could do to keep from hexing her, or ordering Mulciber to do it. He knew that the ignorant Mulciber, or Avery, would do it, but Avery could barely produce a posy with his wand, and having him hex someone might not end well.

Tom felt a slight twinge of pleasure hearing Moon rebuke the other girl, after which Smith left, but he didn't dwell on it long.

The book he was reading was indeed, Hogwarts A History, but he wasn't studying. Not for any classes at least.

A few moments after silence had again fallen on the other side of the bookshelf, his eyes strayed across a passage that caught his attention:

_The Founders' Book is an artifact mentioned in the writing of Rowena Ravenclaw, but which has never been discovered. Though myth has no doubt distorted its true contents, the book has become something of legend. Through many generations, since the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry first began teaching magic, the story has been passed that the book is a magical item that contains all of the founders' spells and magical secrets. This is not specifically stated in Ravenclaw's writing, which is where it was first heard of. Ravenclaw says:_

"_Together, we the founders created a book, a single novel that contains all of our greatest efforts and ideas. Once we had finished however, we were frightened by what others might do with its power, and decided that it would only be safe in the hands of our own heirs. Therefore, we placed it in a secret place, a place where only our heirs should find it, and where only they will be able to get it."_

_Such a thing must indeed be magical, since many of the most powerful spells we know today came from the founders. Naturally, it was thought that such a thing might reside in the founders' greatest achievement: Hogwarts. The school was searched time after time throughout the years, but no one has ever found any hint of the book's whereabouts. Many historians have concluded that perhaps the thing does not even exist._

_However, of the many hundreds of witches and wizards who have passed through Hogwarts, only the founders can be said to have truly known all of its secrets. Somewhere in the castle, there may indeed lie a secret cavern, still hidden, holding a book of magical wonders, and waiting for the four heirs of the founders to claim it._

Tom read the passage several times, his pulse beginning to race. This was exactly the thing that he was looking for. This was a magical item, the only magical item that had ever been made by all four founders, and contained all of their magic. This was the thing that he needed to help him become the most powerful wizard the world had ever known.

_We hope you would kindly give us your thoughts and comments through reviewing. Thank you very much for reading._


	2. A Sedo Satus

**Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus**

_a Harry Potter fanfiction, written by Lalardi and Maia.__ We neither own Harry Potter._

**Chapter One, A Sedo Satus**, _by Maia_

"Tom, are you feeling well?" a feminine voice shattered the deep thoughts of the Slytherin named Tom Riddle.

He looked up and momentarily got blinded by the light emitted by the thousands of candles floating above the Great Hall. It was dinner time, and at the Slytherin table sat Tom and his so-called friends.

He glanced sideways, seeing the frowning face of Stefani Malfoy, framed with sleek blond fringes. He nodded, then took small portions of the food that just appeared in front of them.

"You certainly don't look fine," said Abraxas Malfoy, Stefani's brother, who sat beside Tom.

"I am feeling very _fine_, now drop the subject," snapped Tom.

Abraxas shrugged at Stefani, who weakly smiled in return. Just then, Avery talked whilst eating. "I think Tom's planning about his next evil scheme!"

Mulciber, who was just as big and stupid as Avery, grunted. He swallowed the rest of the food he was chewing and said, "I hope he lets us do a bigger part next time."

"Honestly, Mulciber, do you think Tom would even pass by that thought?" sneered Abraxas. "You can't even do a proper Levitation Charm!"

Stefani snickered along with her brother, however, Tom seemed to be back in his deep thoughts again. She leaned closer to Abraxas. "This must be really important, considering that he isn't even aware that he's being loudly talked about."

Abraxas nodded. And really important it was. Inside Tom's mind were the Founders' Book, and how to grasp it.

_A magical item that contains all of the founders' spells and magical secrets . . . only be safe in the hands of our own heirs . . . a secret place, a place where only our heirs should find it . . . no one has ever found any hint of the book's whereabouts . . . perhaps the thing does not even exist . . . there may indeed lie a secret cavern, still hidden, holding a book of magical wonders, and waiting for the four heirs of the founders to claim it . . ._

It was a treasure, and for sure, it was going to be a host of a part of his soul.

* * *

"And then she just _snubbed _him like that!" Sarah Cromwell, a girl with short blond hair, told her fellow Gryffindors at their table, who laughed in response.

Alexander Potter looked affronted. "No she did not! She looked like she was about to say something to me!"

The blond girl smirked, but it got swapped into a bright smile when a handsome boy with dark red hair arrived at the table.

"Where exactly have you been, Victor?" asked Alex, watching the boy take a seat beside Sarah.

"Oh, you know me, walking around and that," said Victor Moon, biting off a large chunk from a drumstick.

"Walking around, I see. Then how can you explain _that_?" smirked Sarah, pointing at the smudged red lip print on Victor's collar.

Victor's face flushed furiously. He kept on muttering things until Alex patted him playfully on the back.

"No need to hide from us, Vic, we'll know eventually anyway," said Alex, then leaned to Victor's ear. "So did you ask Vicky yet?"

Victor chuckled as Alex waited enthusiastically for his reply. "Unfortunately mate, my dear sister is still doing her best to be hard-to-get."

Alex sighed. "And I thought spending my whole summer training to build more muscles would be enough to get her."

"_More _muscles," snickered Victor, who received a deadly glare from his best friend.

"Don't worry, Alex. Victoria is only acting hard-to-get, but inside, you captured her right from the start," said Sarah.

"Why, Sarah, how can you say so?" asked Victor.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders, then smiled sheepishly at the two. "I have my _girl senses_."

Victor choked on his pumpkin juice. "_Girl senses_?! Really Sarah, you don't fail to amaze me with your skills." He stopped short when he saw the look on Alex's face. "It's that look again," he told Sarah, who noticed Alex's expression too. "Then that must mean –"

* * *

Victoria just arrived at the Ravenclaw table, receiving the usual glances from her male housemates. Although she had spent four years of being stared at by boys, the chilly feeling passing through her spine was something she just couldn't get used to. Her long dark red hair attracted even more attention as it flowed behind her properly postured back. She took a seat at the farthest edge of the table, quietly filling her plate with food, when someone sat beside her.

"Hello there, Victoria," said a brown haired boy with his best killer smile.

"Hello," uttered Victoria, not sparing the boy beside her a single glance.

"As I said when we met in the corridors two years ago, my name is –"

"_Yes_, I know who you are. Your name is Andrew Spencer. Now will you please go away? I am trying to eat dinner in peace," said Victoria stiffly.

"Glad to hear that you still remember my name. Please don't mind me sitting here, just enjoy your dinner," said Andrew dreamily, but the dreamy look on his face quickly dissolved when Victoria gave him a murderous glare.

Andrew nervously laughed and slowly walked away.

* * *

"Ah, Spencer, the prat," Alex remarked, looking over at the Ravenclaw table while running his fingers through his messy jet black hair, "no way can he get Vicky faster than me."

"Well, I see no improvement from either of you anyway, so what's the point of comparing?" said Sarah.

Alex frowned at her. "Earlier you were encouraging me, now you're doing exactly the opposite. _Women._"

* * *

Victoria gulped down the rest of her pumpkin juice and immediately headed out of the Great Hall. Just as she was about to reach the doors, someone called out to her.

"Victoria!"

It was her roommate named Alana Witherspoon, striding towards her. Victoria sighed before turning her heel around and facing Alana.

"Precisely what do you _need_, Witherspoon?" she asked coldly.

Alana stared down at her own shoes apprehensively. "N-nothing, s-so-sorry to inter-rupt."

Victoria shot her an annoyed look and preceded to the Ravenclaw dormitories. Alana was left standing there, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks. She just wanted to be her friend; that was all. Why can't she notice that? Alana delved deeper into her thoughts.

* * *

Victor looked at Alana with a pitying look. "Poor girl, she was Vicky's friend since we were in our nappies, _if _my warmhearted twin even considers her as a friend."

"Does she even _have _friends, Vic?" asked Sarah, watching the stuttering Alana lagging behind a group of giggling Hufflepuff girls. "Victoria, I mean."

"They both _don't _have any friends," replied Victor. Alex raised his brow. "My beloved twin, as you had seen and observed during the last seven years, keeps on getting chased by students who wants to be her friend. While Alana here, she's the one who's chasing students whom she wants friendship with. But no one seems to befriend her though, that's because she stutters a lot, and well, discrimination because of looks, of course."

"Discrimination because of looks?" repeated Alex in disbelief. "So people don't befriend her because she's not pretty? Rubbish, what's the world going through now?"

"I know," said Victor.

"Well Alex," spoke Sarah, playfully patting him on the back, "I suppose you go and befriend her, then."

"What?!" yelled Alex, making a few heads turn to him. He slightly flushed before talking in his normal tone again. "You know I can't do that."

"And why is that?" smirked Sarah. Victor snickered beside her.

"Um, well . . ." Alex suddenly stood up. "I think we should start on that firecrabs homework already, don't you think, Victor, Sarah?"

Victor rose from the table, expecting Sarah to follow him.

"You coming?" asked Victor.

"Of course, I just have something to attend to," replied Sarah. Victor shrugged, and as soon as he was out of the Great Hall, Sarah moved closer to a Gryffindor girl.

"What did she say?" demanded Sarah, in a tone she usually uses to squeeze out some answers.

The girl paled at Sarah's tone. With a gulp, she said, "Just earlier, she spread that Victor and you have something going on, but just keeping it from the public."

"Oh, is she going to have it."

* * *

A short blond Hufflepuff witch giggled as she followed Tom Riddle on the way to the Head Boy and Girl's dormitory. Tom's _friends _had headed towards the dungeons, where the Slytherin dormitories were located. She kept a good few meters away from him, just to make sure he won't know that she was right behind. But did she have her thoughts all wrong.

Tom glanced at the shadow on the wall with the side of his eye. He knew that this Hufflepuff witch had been following him ever since he entered the library, or so, ever since he accidentally locked eyes with her during their third year. He gripped harder on the book he was holding. Somehow, the feeling of annoyance whenever the witch was around was faint, now that he had just discovered something worthy to host a part of his soul.

He turned into a corner and went up the steps two at a time. It was still an odd feeling, having to spend six years of sharing a dormitory with four more Slytherins, and having a whole room to himself in his seventh year because of being made Head Boy. He stopped short at the topmost step of the stairs. He smirked as he felt no more of the witch's presence behind him.

However, there was still one more thing to annoy him that night.

Tom swung open the door to the living room he shared with the Head Girl, and as expected, it was a complete mess. Books, torn parchment, old quills, and spilled ink bottles, even a few clothes, were scattered all around the room. The candlelight chandelier even had a red sock hanging on it.

The door burst open when a girl with straggly brown hair tied in a ponytail came from her bedroom. Her robes were creased everywhere and her bag looked ready to get ripped apart with the amount of books stacked untidily in it.

Her bored hazel eyes dropped on the standing Slytherin before her, then her lips tugged into a creepy smile.

"Good evening, Riddle," she said in her usual cracked voice.

"Good evening, Snyder," Tom replied coolly, as he walked towards his usual armchair beside the fireplace, trying to avoid as much mess as he could. He sat down and darted his eyes towards the girl called Snyder. "I suppose you finished patrolling all ready?"

"Of course," said Snyder and sat down opposite to Tom. "So do you mind helping me with Merrythought's essay?"

"You know, Snyder, you're the only person in my entire life to have enough nerve to ask help from _me_," said Tom. Snyder had been asking for his help on her homework ever since they became Head students.

"For your information Riddle, I'm _Gryffindor_! We're known for daring nerve and chivalry!" Snyder pouted. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Tom wondered how this girl even reached seventh year. He raised his brow and tilted his head. "No," came his quick response. He loosened his tie and flipped the pages of the book he borrowed from the library earlier. Just before he started reading, Snyder's hoarse voice rang again.

"Riddle?"

Tom had a sudden rush of cursing the Head Girl. Snyder was more annoying than the Hufflepuff girl, whose name he didn't even know. He took a deep breath before replying, "Yes?"

"Exactly _what _are firecrabs?"

"Do you know what the library is for?" he asked.

"Yes," said Snyder as her baggy eyes glared at the sitting figure before her. "And I'm beginning to get annoyed when you ask instead of answering my question."

Tom was trying to avoid the temptation of cursing the girl now. He asked himself how this girl actually had the potential of being a Head Girl. "Honestly, Snyder, do me a favor and open a book."

"I don't want to," said Snyder with a smirk.

Gathering up all patience he had, Tom shut his book and strode to his bedroom, leaving a _click _after the door closed.

"Now that's rude," muttered Rebecca Snyder.

* * *

Tom was sitting on his desk, reading and rereading the short passage that he just couldn't extract more clues from. His room was lighted with a small candle, with a breeze from the open window casually disrupting the flame's straight form.

_Knock. _Surely it was Snyder, thought Tom. Another knock. If only the Killing Curse wasn't illegal, then he would have already killed the annoying Head Girl, as he would have already done with every person in the world. Tom, his string of patience dangerously snapping, opened his door with force.

Glaring at the straggly brown haired girl before him, he quietly asked. "Snyder, will you _please _–"

Before he could even continue what he was saying, Rebecca slapped him on the right cheek. Shocked at her sudden actions, Tom grabbed his wand. Little did he know that the slap came with a free piece of parchment.

The parchment fluttered as it fell down to the floor. Tom's wand was already pointing at Rebecca's throat. He was surprised that the girl didn't go pale, instead, she was pointing at his shoes.

Tom looked down and spotted a piece of parchment indeed covering his shoes.

"I believe you owe me an apology, Riddle," said Rebecca as Tom reached for the parchment. Flipping it open, he quietly read:

_Dear Tom,_

_I would be very pleased if you could come to my birthday party, which will be occurring next Friday night. If you would like, you can bring a special someone with you._

_Good day,_

_Professor H. J. E. Slughorn_

Tom looked back to Rebecca, catching her peeking at the parchment. Her eyes immediately tore away from it and directed it to a particular spot on the stone wall. "I am perfectly certain you don't need one, Snyder. Now what came into your mind that you slapped parchment on my cheek instead of just giving it to me?"

Rebecca chuckled. "You deserved a slap for being rude, and nobody gets away from me for being rude. So really, what _are _firecrabs? Crabs that breathe fire or crabs that live in fire?"

Tom maintained a glare to the girl for a moment. "Firecrabs are large amphibians which have jeweled shells. They have six legs, able to shoot flames from its rear when attacked, and are a protected species. Good night, Snyder," he said dismissively, and then closed the door right in front of Rebecca.

The girl went back to her usual armchair and grabbed parchment from her bag. Her quill was readily gripped in her hand, positioned at the top-left corner of the blank parchment, and stared. "Oh, it's supposed to be _mating habits _of firecrabs, not the definition of firecrabs . . ."

* * *

Selena Smith, the short blond Hufflepuff witch who kept on following the Head Boy earlier, just got inside her dormitory. As usual, the floor was covered with fluffy pillows and witch magazines. Her two best friends were already lying flat on their stomachs on the pillows, chatting while flipping through the magazines.

Upon hearing the door close, Katherine MacMillan, a slim girl with long black hair, peered over her copy of _Teen Witch_. A smile appeared on her face when Selena sat down with them.

"I assume you just finished your daily routine of Riddle-spying?" asked Katherine, winking at the blushing blond before her.

Selena pouted at her. "And I assume you still haven't finished your homework?"

"We already did that during the time you bounced behind Riddle's back," said Rowena Tyler, another of Selena's mates and quite a chubby redhead witch. She received a giggle from Katherine and a glare from Selena.

Katherine rolled over the pillows and turned onto the next page of her magazine. "In all honesty, Selena, don't wait until graduation. You fancy Riddle since that _glorious moment _during third year, why not admit it to him already?"

"It's not as easy as you think, Katie!" cried Selena.

Rowena leaned over the blond witch and handed over a small red textbook. "Read it very carefully, dear."

Selena examined the small book closely. It was hardbound, with a velvety red covering, and adorned with curly hearts and butterflies. On the front cover was the title emblazoned with scripted gold writing: _Seven Fail-Safe Ways to Bewitch Wizards_. Her face blushed redder than Rowena's hair as she read each word.

"You want me to read that – that –"

Rowena cast a glare to the blond girl. Katherine was giggling as she watched. "Let's play a game, shall we, Selena? And yes, Katie, you're obliged to join as well," she told the black haired witch who was slowly shrinking into the corner, trying to avoid their little _game_. "It will be enjoyable, trust me, Sel."

"I – I don't think –" Selena started to mutter, while Rowena leaned more closer, silencing the blond witch.

"All it takes is _hard work_, Selena, and a little _bewitching_," said Rowena. "Now on to the game. You should form a relationship with Riddle before our seventh year ends."

"And what if I don't?" asked Selena confidently, trying to hide how much nervous she was. Her stomach flipped over when Rowena showed that smirk. That oh-so-dark-and-evil smirk.

"Do it, or would you rather experience a painful, distressing, pitiful heartbreak?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I heard Riddle and that Malfoy girl has got something going on," stated Katherine with a wink, then got a glare from Rowena. "Hey! I just heard that."

"That was supposed to be _my _line, Kates," pouted Rowena, then returned to the slightly shocked Selena.

"That gossip definitely came from Maria Weasley," muttered Selena, but Rowena continued on.

"Anyway, Selena dear, that was the warning. Before Riddle declares his undying love –"

Rowena was interrupted when Katherine began to laugh so loud that it might have awoken the whole castle. She had tears in her eyes and looked like she was about to burst soon enough.

"Love! _Riddle _and _love _in a sentence?! That's just impossible!" Katherine said, punctuated with laughter and gasps for air.

"I _know_!" snapped Rowena. "Now let me continue! Before Riddle declares his undying love to that Stefani Malfoy and snogs her in front of the whole castle and you look like you've been kissed by a Dementor for your whole life, _you _need to go and get him."

"Thank you for the offer, Rowena, but no thank you. It's perfectly impossible to let Riddle fancy me, better yet, _notice _me." With that, Selena changed into her pajamas and retired to her bed.

Rowena scowled. "You're being pessimistic, Selena! Seriously, do you just want to stare and giggle at him from afar and wait for him to come after you?"

The blond girl threw her extra pillow to Rowena. She burrowed her face into her pillow and mumbled, "Good night, 'Wena, Katie."

"Good night," said the two other Hufflepuffs. "Here's your reply for the pillow," added Rowena, throwing the _Seven Fail-Safe Ways to Bewitch Wizards _book at Selena.

The sleeping figure of the blond witch twitched at the book's contact, however, Selena responded no more, apparently too tired to do so.

Rowena turned to Katherine. "I was serious about the game," she told the black haired girl. "Now do you really believe that gossip about Riddle and that Malfoy girl?"

Katherine giggled. "I know you're not a kind of person who would believe –"

* * *

"MARIA WEASLEY!" Sarah Cromwell yelled to the Gryffindor Common Room. Heads immediately turned to her direction, but the last head that turned to her slowly did its rotation process.

Maria Weasley was a plump seventh year, with fiery red hair. Its color became more perceptible since her face paled, upon the sight of a murderously glaring Sarah. "Yes?" she squeaked.

"Why in Merlin's name did you spread that unpleasant gossip about Victor and I are _in a secret relationship_?!"

Beads of sweat were tracing down Maria's neck. Gathering up her Gryffindor courage, she said, "I certainly did _not _spread the _unpleasant gossip _you're talking about. It's ridiculous that you even consider _me _as a suspect."

But Sarah still had that skeptical look upon her face. She mockingly raised her brow. "Do remember you're in Gryffindor, Maria. Gryffindors _don't _cover up their mistakes, you know," she said quietly, seemingly enjoying the redhead's anxiety.

"All right!" admitted Maria finally, color returning too much to her face, as it was red as her hair now. "I did spread that," she added in barely a whisper.

"Thank you," smiled Sarah brightly, returning to her normal, pleasant behavior. "Mind explaining me your excuse of doing such an act?"

Maria flushed even more. Almost all of the population in the common room was attempting their best to listen for the _Hogwarts Grand Gossiper_'s reason, and knowing Sarah, Maria might just include stopping her unhealthy habit of spreading bad gossip. Most thought that she tickled a sleeping dragon, since Sarah was not blocking her way before she spread the false rumor.

"I – I – but – ugh!" Maria took a deep breath, glared at Sarah who tilted her head as she raised her brow while smiling, and burst to her announcement. "It was all gossip! It was never true, neither are all of what I spread . . . sorry, Cromwell."

Silence deafened the ears of the Gryffindors. The flames cackled at the fireplace, it was the only sound heard until Maria said her apologies louder. "I said _I'm sorry_, Cromwell," she stiffly and reluctantly said.

A triumphant smile graced Sarah's pale, heart-shaped face. "Very well done, Weasley! No more additions, I reckon?"

Maria cast the blond witch a glare. "I won't spread such gossips anymore."

"_I can't hear you_," mocked Sarah in a sing-song voice, bringing her ear nearer to Maria.

"I won't spread such gossips anymore!" yelled the redhead, flushing madly.

"Thank you, thank you," said Sarah. "Enough on that; get back to your homework, children."

With that, the Gryffindors went back to their business. Spending seven years at Hogwarts shouting and grabbing attention at the most unexpected times gained Sarah popularity and obedience. Headmaster Dippet actually gave her the title of Head Girl, but she said that it was too much of a hassle, and therefore he passed it on to another Gryffindor, Rebecca Snyder.

So now, scribbling quills and flipping pages were back in the common room's background sounds. Some fifth and sixth years even whispered hastily upon being called as _children _by Sarah.

Ignoring the whispers, Sarah jumped on an armchair beside the relieved Maria. The redhead looked somewhat disgusted by Sarah's actions.

"You do know that that was very unladylike," said Maria.

"Really?" asked Sarah, sounding slightly interested. "Well-behaved women rarely make history anyways; and do you think _spreading false rumors _around is unladylike?"

"I already said I was sorry, Cromwell," said Maria through gritted teeth.

Sarah laughed. "All right, I'll stop."

Maria rolled her eyes. "Where are Potter and Moon, by the way? It's rather odd seeing you without those two."

"If you only knew, Weasley," Sarah grinned, "if you only knew."

* * *

"Now I know why I wasn't sorted in Ravenclaw," said Victor Moon in defeat.

Alexander Potter and he were trying to get inside the Ravenclaw Tower, in hopes of chatting with Victor's twin sister, Victoria. Currently, the bronze eagle knocker was blocking their entrance, until they answered the riddle compulsory for entry.

Alex cupped his chin and looked like he was in deep thought. Victor eyed him, hopeful that the answer was formulating inside his brain.

A few more minutes of thought and silence and there was still no answer. That was, until, a familiar feminine voice was heard behind them.

"What are you doing here?" her tone was cold and bossy.

Victoria Moon was standing there, clad in her robes and carrying a book in her hand, a lit wand in the other. Her icy hazel gaze froze the two Gryffindors upon sight. She had that stiff face that most people thought was incapable of emotions. Some people had even thought that she and Victor weren't twins, if it weren't only for their identical hair, eyes, and face shape.

"Vicky! Good eve–" before Alex could continue, Victoria was already throwing a dare-you-try glare.

"Why, good evening, Vicky!" exclaimed Victor sarcastically. "_Where have you been?! _We've been clawing our brains out to get a bloody answer for this riddle thing!"

Not a muscle moved on Victoria's face to form an expression. "Good evening too, Victor. To answer your question, I have been in the library. _And_ it is completely impossible to _claw your brains out_ without dying."

"_Oh, the library_," muttered Alex sarcastically, "why haven't we thought of that?"

Victoria knocked on the eagle bronze knocker. Almost immediately, the eagle sang the riddle, each word echoing around the corridor.

"_When I'm hot, the anger rises._

_When I'm cold, it paralyzes._

_When I race, the throbbing shakes you._

_When I halt, the reaper takes you."_

Victor and Alex waited patiently as Victoria thought. Two seconds passed by and Victoria simply said, "Blood."

"Finely thought," sang the bronze knocker, and the door swung open.

Victoria turned to the two Gryffindors who were facepalming themselves. "By the way, why are you here again?"

"Oh right!" exclaimed Alex, gripping Victoria's hand in a flash. "Would you like to –"

Interrupted once more, the Ravenclaw snapped her hand away from Alex and slammed the door in front of him. Alex looked heartbroken.

"Told you my sister is _too _hard to woo, but no worries, mate, she'll realize soon," said Victor, patting his hand gently on Alex's shoulder.

* * *

A soft glowing light emitted around Tom's pocket watch as it struck twelve midnight. He took a glance from it and turned back to _Hogwars, A History_, twirling the quill in his hand.

A red glint appeared on Tom's deep blue eyes as it scanned the page. A plan just formed in his mind, and that was to –

_. . . there may indeed lie a secret cavern, still hidden, holding a book of magical wonders, and waiting for the four heirs of the founders to claim it . . ._

– find the three other heirs of the Hogwarts Four, and manipulate them to achieve his wish.

_We are currently in the crave for reviews, so please give us some._


	3. Appositus Tempestas

**Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus**

_a Harry Potter fanfiction, written by Lalardi and Maia. We neither own Harry Potter._

**Chapter Two, ****Appositus Tempestas**, _by Lalardi_

Monday morning dawned bright and chilly. Tom sat up out of bed, thoroughly regretting his decision to leave the window open last night, as the warm evening breeze had been replaced by chilly morning wind.

After quickly pulling on his robes, he glanced at his pocket watch, and was pleased to see that it was six o'clock, well before Snyder would be awake – as if she'd ever been on time to a single class in all her time at Hogwarts.

Tom grabbed his bag, pausing to stuff the book on Hogwarts' history into it. The pages were wrinkled from where he had fallen asleep reading it.

He carefully sneaked out of his room, and glanced into the small common room he shared with Rebecca. It was just as messy as it had been the night before, but the obnoxious Gryffindor was nowhere to be seen.

Picking his way through the Head Girl's mess, he slipped through the door and out into the empty corridor.

He wasn't even to the entrance hall when he heard timid footsteps behind him. _That Hufflepuff,_ he thought, his anger rising. It had probably been less than twelve hours since he had escaped her, and here she was again.

Spinning around to face his stalker, he snapped "Don't you have _anything _else to do at this hour?"

xxx

Alana felt her face burn at the Headboy's vicious tone. She quickly looked at the floor to avoid his icy blue gaze.

"I'm sorry, Riddle, I didn't mean to be out so early, only I couldn't sleep, and I thought I'd take a walk before breakfast, because it was so early. It won't happen again."

She chanced a glance through her hair, up at the Slytherin, and was startled to see that he looked almost as surprised as she was. But the expression faded almost before she had realized what it was.

"That's fine Witherspoon, I'm –" he paused before continuing. "You'd better get upstairs."

Alana stared at him for a moment, almost certain that he had been about to apologize to her. But his face was just as inscrutable now as it normally was. She was about to turn and do as he had said when a flicker of color caught her eye.

A knot formed in her stomach as she felt the familiar tingling in her mouth. She bit her tongue compulsively, and tried to keep staring at the floor. But curiosity got the better of her. She had seen so many strong people's colors, and she suddenly desperately wanted to know what his would be, this strong, slightly frightening Slytherin.

She looked up, and a small gasp escaped her. It was black.

She'd expected green, or maybe silver, since he was such a strong Slytherin, but it wasn't. It was dark, like night, the light gently throbbing around him. As she stared at him, his expression hardened, and the light throbbed more insistently. He was getting angry.

Before he could snap at her again, she stumbled around and hurried up the corridor away from him, wishing for the light of the Great Hall, her eyes still seeing the black light surrounding him. It was a first for her. She'd seen many such lights, in all colors, some strong, some barely a glimmer, but she had never before seen someone who wore a black Aura.

xxx

Alex played with his eggs miserably at breakfast.

"You shouldn't be so down, you know," Victor said stoically. "She'd never say yes to anyone the first time, no matter who they were."

"Thanks a lot," Alex mumbled, wearily casting a glance at the Ravenclaw table. He raised his head with more interest when he noticed that she wasn't there.

"Well, she doesn't hate you, just because you pursued her one time. In fact, she's probably trying to hide how impressed she is that . . ." Sarah trailed off, unsure of how to continue. "Are you even listening to me?" she added, noticing that Alex was still gazing intently at the Ravenclaw table.

"No," he said casually. Victor laughed, and Alex turned back around, a sheepish expression on his face.

Sarah crossed her arms and tried to glare at him, but this caused Victor to laugh even harder, and soon her expression softened, and she had to fight to keep back giggles.

"Where is Vicky, ah, Victoria, this morning anyway?" Alex asked, gaining control of himself again.

"How should I know?" Victor coughed, reaching for a glass of pumpkin juice, "but I'd hazard a guess that she's in her very favorite haunt, the –"

"Library," Alex finished for him, nodding.

Sarah shook her head, "You know girls don't only stay in one place, once you've seen them there."

"Well, where else would she be?" Alex demanded.

"I don't know. Her dormitory?"

"Ah, we wouldn't know. We're too stupid to get into Ravenclaw dormitory." Victor said sadly, shaking his head. "I got all the guts and courage, and m'dear sister was left with only the wit."

All three of them laughed.

xxx

"Hmph!" Selena pouted as she came up the stairs to the Great Hall.

"What's the matter with you?" Katherine asked, affronted.

"As if you had to ask," Rowena said, nodding towards someone entering the hall ahead of them.

"Oh, Riddle." Katherine said knowingly. Then she grinned, and poked Selena in the ribs with an elbow. "Remember our game, Sel."

Selena flushed, and stammered "I don't think, I don't, well! I don't recall your part in this game, Katie!"

"I'll tell you later," Katie said evasively.

"I wonder what Riddle was doing with Witherspoon," Rowena said, ignoring the other two.

"What?" Selena squeaked, jerking her head around to look at Riddle, who was just sitting down at the Slytherin table.

"Well, that girl with the brown hair, there," she said, gesturing at a small, mousy haired girl sitting quietly at the end of the Gryffindor table, "she came in just before Riddle."

"That doesn't mean anything." Selena said quickly.

"But that might." Katherine said, pointing at the Slytherin table. Stefani Malfoy was leaning close to Riddle across the table, whispering.

Selena had nothing to say to that.

xxx

As it happened, Victoria was not in the library, or her dormitory. She was in the owlery, sending a letter to her parents.

She pulled her robes tighter around her as she watched the tawny owl fly away over the greenhouses and out above the forbidden forest. She shivered, then turned and started down the stairs, her mind back in London, where her parents were still living. Or at least she hoped they were living. Not that there was much in the way of Muggle weapons that wizards couldn't protect themselves from, but still, she'd heard of several families in Hogwarts already, both Muggle and wizard born, that had lost parents or siblings in the bombings on London.

_I should write to them more often,_ Victoria berated herself, kicking a stray piece of hay aside that had blown down the stairs of the owlery.

By the time she arrived in the entrance hall, students were already leaving for their first classes. Victoria slipped inside and took a piece of toast before hurrying back towards the marble staircase. Her first class was Transfiguration, and she didn't want to be late.

xxx

Tom had never stopped regretting the day in his third year when he had decided to take Divination. _A regretful year,_ he thought, thinking of his Hufflepuff admirer.

At the time he had thought it would be useful, to be able to glimpse the future, a trait that would no doubt help him when he had more power. However, the subject had turned out to be not only dull, but also fairly useless. What need did he have to calculate his character in endless lists of astrological positions, or to dissect his most mundane dreams? None.

He sighed as he picked up his bag from the bench and stood to leave.

"What's the matter, Tom? Sick of divination already? It's only been three years since you started really hating it," Abraxas said, smirking.

Tom gave him a cold look that immediately wiped the smirk off the blond boy's face.

"Remember what I told you though, Tom," Stefani Malfoy said, lowering her voice, her expression serious.

Tom chuckled, a dark sound that made the other Slytherins around him shiver.

"Not to worry. If I hear that Maria Weasely has said one thing about me, she'll wish she'd been born dumb," he said wickedly.

xxx

Selena had never once regretted the day that she had chosen to take Divination. It was entirely worth it. Not to mention the bonus of having the class with the Slytherins, so that she had the chance to sit in a darkened classroom and stare at Riddle for a whole hour. She savored every rare memory of when the divination professor had called on Riddle, causing him to reveal some tidbit, anything. One of her favorite subjects had been the month on dream interpretation. Even though Riddle had only had to read one entry, and it had been about a dream involving flying on a thestral, she had still swallowed it eagerly and memorized it entirely.

"Ugh, this is such a waste of time," Rowena moaned as they ascended the steps up the divination tower.

"Oh, I think it's excellent," Selena said dreamily, recalling the one time that she'd been paired with Riddle.

Fourth year, they'd been reading the tea leaves, and she'd leaped into the empty seat beside Riddle before anyone could reach it. She'd been as generous as she could with his cup, seeing windfall and fame in it. She was sure that he'd done his best with hers, all that about danger in her path, and someone she saw often threatening her.

"It's not that I don't enjoy it, only that I don't think it's useful. I mean, even if it was real, how could we use it in our adult lives?"

"Are you serious?" Selena said incredulously. "How couldn't you? You could figure out what would happen the next day, when people came to visit, even," she lowered her voice dramatically. "Who you will marry!"

"Oh, Sel," Katherin scoffed. "We all know who your future will say you marry, as long as you're reading it."

"I don't see what you mean," Selena huffed.

"I mean that whatever you see, you would say that it means you're going to marry Riddle. You've never said anything different."

"Maybe that's just my fate."

"Ha! Oh, what a horrid fate for poor Selena Smith!" Rowena said mockingly.

"You two! You just don't understand what seeing the future means. It's a very mysterious art, meant only for mind open to anything."

"Or, in your case, open to marrying Tom Riddle?" Katherine said, smirking.

Selena didn't have time to answer. The three girls had reached the foot of the ladder that led up into the divination classroom.

xxx

"Listen, my children!" Professor Vablsaky said in her cracked voice. It was how she liked to begin classes, even though these particular pupils were well beyond children. But not to a woman of sixty years. To her they were still innocent children.

"Because we have progressed so far in our time together, I have decided that you are all advanced enough in your knowledge of divination, that we may begin the study of Auras."

She paused to see the students reactions. Many looked at each other in confusion. She had expected this. Not many Seers, even professional ones, knew much of Auras, mainly because it was a subject that was very impractical to teach.

"There are not many people that are able to see Auras naturally. There are not many that can even be taught to see them. But we shall try here, because it can be useful, even if you cannot see Auras, to know what they mean.

"An Aura is someone's essence in energy, which, for those who can see it, appears in a colour, surrounding the person, and in many cases, unique to them. Auras can also have different strengths. Some can be very faint, just a shimmer, while others can be very bright, almost blinding."

As she spoke, she strained her own eyes, trying to see some of the students' Auras. It had been a long time since she had tried, and it tired her eyes. But even so, she achieved it, noting some colour in the darkened room.

One of the heavy Slytherin students, Mulciber, his was a dull brown, and fairly faint, opposed to the plump little Hufflepuff girl, Smith's, which was, almost surprisingly, a deep, brilliant bronze. The Hufflepuff colors, she realized after a moment. Of course – Smith, the family name that Hufflepuff had diluted to.

Even though she had had Smith in her class for years, she still felt a little flattered, realizing that Hufflepuff's heir was here in her class. But she pushed the pride away, and continued.

"So, if you will all open your books to page seventy-nine and read the first passage, this will give you some background before we begin."

xxx

Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had Transfiguration together. It was one of Victoria's favorite classes, excepting one downside: Rebecca Snyder was in it.

Victoria had disliked Snyder since their first year at Hogwarts. Even though she was the Head Girl now, she had always been insufferable, and Victoria couldn't fathom how she had ended up in such high standing. Always rude, to everyone, teachers included, with horrible manners, she got away with it because she was naturally talented, and because her parents were quite famous, her father being the undersecretary to the minister of magic, her mother a popular magazine writer.

_And it's lucky that she's naturally talented, because she's probably never studied for anything in her life, _Victoria thought, annoyed.

But it was more than class rivalry that fueled her disgust for the Gryffindor girl. Personal enmity had begun in their third year, when Victoria had beaten Snyder in a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. After the class, Snyder had been waiting, and hexed Victoria outside in the corridor. Victoria well recalled the panic and humiliation as her breath caught in her throat, unable to escape, suffocating until someone had screamed for a teacher and Merrythought had rescued her. Snyder had been punished severely, but the two had hated each other ever since.

Victoria took a seat as far from Snyder as she could, and waited for Professor Dumbledore to begin speaking. She took out a sheet of parchment and began writing "Transfiguration" across the top in bold script. She had the uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching her, and she looked up to find Alexander Potter and her brother watching her. Victor waved brightly, and Alex ducked his head, accidentally ripping the piece of parchment on the desk in front of him. Victoria sighed, and nodded to Victor before going back to her parchment.

Luckily, it wasn't long before the auburn haired professor rose from his desk and called for silence in the classroom. Snyder was the last to stop speaking, only because the girl she had been talking to was ignoring her.

Victoria shook her head and focused on Dumbledore.

"As you will recall from last week, we will be continuing our study of human transformations. Last week we began on basic accomplishments, changing of hair color. Today, we will begin transforming features."

Victoria took careful notes all through Dumbledore's description of the process of human transformation. She did not bother looking at Snyder; she knew that she wouldn't be doing anything.

"Alright, everyone? Ready to try?" Dumbledore said, smiling at the class. There were various '_yes'_' followed by the nodding heads.

xxx

Alex could hardly concentrate during Dumbledore's explanation of the day's lesson. When he heard everyone around him saying "yes" to something, he looked up, feeling slightly panicked.

"Honestly Alex, you should make some vague attempt to pay attention, even a tiny bit," Sarah said disapprovingly as she and Victor reached for their bags and retrieved their wands. Alex scrambled to do so himself.

"What are we supposed to do?" he muttered out of the side of his mouth to Victor, who slyly took Sarah's notes off of her desk while she was bent over, and handed them to Alex.

He scanned them quickly then thrust them back across to Sarah's desk as she emerged from her bag with her wand.

"Everyone, you will need," Dumbledore paused and waved his wand, causing a small mirror to appear on every student's desk, "these. Now, everyone, your first attempts, you shall try to shrink your ears to about half their size. Do so now."

xxx

Professor Vablasky watched calmly as the students stared hard at each other, concentrating. It was actually rather comical, but that wasn't something to be recognized at this time. All of them but one.

Tom Riddle was leaning back in his chair, gazing lazily at the Malfoy boy, who looked as though he might as well be trying to stare through the wall.

This disturbed her some. Riddle never acted as though anything strained him, so it was normal, but she still found in unsettling. It reminded her of another young man, years ago, one just as cocky and talented, but one perhaps more charming, more attractive, more...evil.

She gave her head a little shake, then clapped her hands and addressed the class.

"You may all stop now, while we pause for another exercise. Sometimes it is possible to tell one's potential for seeing an Aura, or even what an Aura itself will appear as, by the palm. Now I know you have all learned to read palms, but this is something more subtle, so I will ask each of you to come in turn up here to the fire so that I may interpret. Ms. MacMillan, if you will come up first."

They went by slowly, each one almost the same in the area of Auras. No, no, and no. The one with the most potential seemed to be Rowena Tyler, but she didn't seem to care for the idea.

"Mr. Riddle," she called as Smith went dejectedly back to her chair, having been told that she would have to practice a great deal before her potential evolved.

Riddle stood up and wove through the chairs to the fireside with noticeable grace. He stopped and knelt down beside her chair, and obediently held out his right palm flat.

Vablsky smiled at him, then took his hand and held it to the light of the fire. What she saw shocked her, and she drew in an involuntary breath.

She felt Riddle stiffen, but she paid no attention. She was too busy gazing at that hand, a hand that she had seen, nearly identical before, on another young man . . .

"_A fortune for you sir?" She had asked for what felt like the millionth time at the Muggle festival. The young man paused though, and looked at her, and she was taken aback by his handsome face. He had golden blond hair, and a laughing face that was extremely attractive._

"_Why madam, I do believe that's exactly what I need." he'd said, coming towards her little tent, and stopping out front._

"_How much?" he'd said pleasantly._

"_Um, no, no cost for you sir. A pleasure."_

"_We'll decide that when you're through, shall we?"_

"_Oh, alright. Ah, may I, may I see your hand?"_

"_Yours, madam." He'd smiled such a devilish smile, and held out that pale hand to her. She'd taken it, and taken a moment to savor its gentle feel before looking at its pale center._

_It was an amazing palm._

"_Power," she told him, "great power and fame. But beware," she faltered, and glanced at his suddenly serious face before continuing. "Death is in your wake. Much death."_

"_When?" he's asked, his voice grim._

"_Not for you. You will live long. No, this death, it has already happened. And more is to come." she said, confused, "Has there been a death in your family?"_

_Then he'd looked amused for a moment, "Yes, there has been."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Thank you, my dear. Now, unfortunately, I must go. But, for your services," and he'd pressed something into her hand before she could protest, and gone._

_She'd watched him until he vanished, then she'd uncurled her palm, and seen the coins there. Wizard coins. And an address._

"What is it, Professor?" Riddle asked, jerking Vablasky from her memories.

"Nothing dear. You too will have to work hard to gain sight," she whispered, then released his hand and turned away.

"I think that shall be all for today. Please read chapter seventeen and come prepared to search for Auras next time. You may go."

xxx

Victor and Alex left Transfiguration with their hands over their ears, Sarah giggling beside them.

"Oh, shut it already, will you? It's not as if your ears are the size of plates," Victor said sullenly, pausing beside a window to try and get a glimpse of his reflection. He lifted his hands from his ears for a moment, then quickly clamped them back down.

"You look just as stupid walking around with your hands over your ears as you would with just the overlarge ears," Sarah said reasonably, earning herself a glare from Victor.

"Dumbledore said they'd shrink soon," Alex grumbled, inspecting his own ears in the glass.

"Well, that depends on whether or not you consider a half hour _soon_," Sarah said cheerfully.

"Remind me again why we can't just shrink them?" Victor said longingly.

"Because," Sarah intoned, "Unless you know exactly what size they were before, when you shrink them it'll be anyone's guess how they end up. It's better if you just wait, and they'll return to their original size."

"Easy for you to say," Alex grumped.

"That sounds very professional, but I think I'd rather get a second opinion." Victor said.

"A third. Dumbledore's already said once." Sarah replied, annoyed.

"Yeah? Just wait," he said, and paused in the corridor, interrupting the flow of students, and called. "Oi, Victoria! Vicky, where are you?"

"Right here," said an annoyed voice a few feet away.

"Oh," Victor flushed a bit, and turned around to face her, "Um, you don't know how long it'll take for our ears to, ah, look normal again, do you?"

Victoria looked pityingly at the two boys holding their ears. "About thirty minutes," she said.

"Ah, no!" Alex moaned.

Sarah winked at Vicky, but the Ravenclaw didn't return the expression. Instead, she said, "Excuse me," and strode past them, vanishing around the corner.

Alex sighed audibly, and Sarah gave him a skeptical look as they neared the entrance hall. "If you want to talk to her, just go after her and talk," she said, exasperated.

"It's not that simple." Alex said, then quickly added "What've we got next, Herbology?"

xxx

Tom went back to the library after lunch, telling the other Slytherins that he had left his Care of Magical Creatures essay late, and needed to finish it.

This was a complete lie of course. He had finished the essay the night before, but he was used to lying. He'd even gone so far as to call it a talent.

Miraculously, he arrived at the library without the normal pitter-patter of the Hufflepuff girl behind him. He even checked behind him a few times, to be sure.

Feeling immensely satisfied with the knowledge that he was alone, he went straight to the front desk, where the librarian, a young, rather skinny witch, was checking a stack of returned books. He had noticed that this was a ritual she never failed to complete before reshelving books, something that he had taken advantage of, by always returning his own books exactly as he had taken them. The librarian had noticed, he knew, because she had taken rather a fancy to him.

"Hello, Tom," she said in her wispy voice, a smile cracking her face.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Pince." Tom said, smiling at her in a coy fashion. "How are you today?" As if he cared.

"Fine, Tom, thank you," she tittered, setting down the book she was only half finished checking to come to the counter. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, I don't know if you would know, but I thought that if anyone did, it'd be you," he began, trying to look embarrassed, and glancing at her out of the side of his eye. She stood a little straighter, obviously feeling important.

"I was wondering if you know anything about the Founders' Book?" he asked, lowering his voice slightly.

He was disappointed to see the uneasy look that crossed her face.

"Well," she said, looking down at the desk and tracing some crack in the wood, "I don't really know much about it. Have you looked in Hogwarts, A History?"

"Yes."

"What about under the founders separately?"

"Yes."

"Tom, I'm not sure I can help you this time. Would you like a pass for the restricted section again?" she asked. But something in the way she said she _couldn't help_ made him suspicious.

"Well, I don't know if I'll find anything there. I was just sure that you would know." He sighed, looking away again.

He could feel her struggling with indecision, so he waited for a few moments before saying. "I'd better go, thank you for your help." He dropped just a little sarcasm on 'help,' then, as he turned away, she called him back.

"Tom, I might know something that would help you, but I'm not supposed to, I mean, students are supposed to." She paused, undecided.

"I won't tell anyone. And you know that I would never use anything unlawfully," he said winningly.

"Well, I suppose, if you won't tell."

"I won't, Irma," he said quietly, looking earnestly at her across the desk. "Just help me."

That did it. He didn't know whether it was the look, or the use of her first name, but it did the job. She flushed, and checked around to see if anyone was looking before coming from behind the desk and gesturing for him to follow her.

Irma Pince led him through the library, past scores of quiet shelves, to the very back of the library, where even Tom rarely visited.

"No one here, is there Tom?" she asked, pausing as they walked around one of the very last shelves, and peering around at the surrounding ones.

"One moment." Tom said chivalrously. He drew his wand and pointed it back the way they had come, and a _whoos_hing sound accompanied the gesture, invisible except for the rustling books.

"No," he confirmed a moment later. The librarian looked a bit dazzled by his quick magic, but went back to what she was doing.

She walked swiftly down the aisle between the shelf, to a portrait at the end it, hanging on the stone wall, of an old man who was snoring, apparently asleep. Irma Pince drew her own wand and softly murmured _"Aperio."_

Tom looked expectantly at the portrait of the sleeping man, which, at the librarian's words, slid sideways into the bookshelf next to it, revealing a door, much like a broom cupboard, behind it.

The librarian carefully pointed her wand at it and Tom heard a lock click. The door swung open and Tom was surprised to see quite a large space behind it, filled with two teetering stacks of books. He took a step forward, curiosity and greed getting the better of him, but Pince held her arm out to stop him.

"Sorry, Tom, I'm not supposed to let anyone in," she said nervously.

"That's fine, I'm sorry, I was only curious."

"Hold on just one minute," she said, then stepped forward into the room, and dug around for a moment. It was only seconds later that she emerged with a dusty book. The door closed quickly behind her, and the portrait slid back out of the shelf, covering the door. It had all taken less than five minutes, and it all looked just the same, only now the old man in the portrait was awake. He angrily shook his finger at Pince, saying. "You shouldn't have you know!"

She blushed deeply, but turned away, saying. "Come on, let's go."

Once they were a shelf away from the portrait, she stopped, and turned awkwardly to him, "Those were all banned books, Tom, ones that the Founders put in Hogwarts, and later headmasters decided that they were too dangerous to be left to the students. I'm not supposed to show them to anyone, but, I trust you, Tom, and I hope I'm not wrong in doing this. So please, don't tell anyone, and don't let any of the teachers see the book. Please?" she said, still holding the book to her.

Tom tore his eyes away from its dirty cover to look at Irma Pince. "Of course. I'll be extremely careful with it." He said, lips twitching in yet another dishonest smile.

xxx

_Special thanks to Morgan21590_, _slytherin-principessa_, and _The Darkest wizard_ for their reviews!

Care to leave a review too? =)


	4. Chapter 4

**Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus**

_a Harry Potter fanfiction, written by Lalardi and Maia. We neither own Harry Potter._

**Chapter Three**, _by Maia_

His pale, long fingers traced the spine of the ancient book as he walked back towards his dormitory. Strips of moonlight draped him when he passed by the high windows, then darkness covering him again when he was between them. Reaching the foot of the stairs to the dormitory, he heard light footsteps approaching where he was.

Being paranoid as he sometimes was, he wrapped his fingers around his wand beneath his robes. He tucked the book inside one of his robes' inside pockets and stayed where he was.

"Bloody patrolling duties . . ." he heard the voice groan.

'_Snyder,' _Tom thought, breathing in relief and taking his hands off his wand.

Rebecca, hair tousled and robes creased as always, turned into a corner and trudged into a view. Upon settling her eyes upon the Head Boy before her, the sides of her lips tugged into another one of her infamous creepy smiles. Then their usual greetings followed.

"Hello there, Riddle," she said.

"Hello, Snyder," he replied tonelessly.

An idea raised her brows, and then she rummaged inside her robes. Tom watched the girl fish out random everyday objects from her robes, muttering 'no, that's not it' every now and then. After a few seconds, she pulled out a slightly crumpled envelope and handed it to him.

When Tom had the envelope in his hands, it was only then that he noticed that it was, first of all, _pink_. Then he took sight of the small glittery hearts and cursive love doodles in red, cherry-smelling ink adorning every single space the small envelope could provide. The envelope even smelled like it was drenched in a ridiculous perfume made by witches who would have thought it would seduce wizards, but failed miserably without their knowledge.

Tom's face cringed in disgust at the smell for a slight second. If it wouldn't have been because of his strong control of emotions, he would have already cringed at the sight, worse, tear it into pieces. But he must keep his calm – this situation has already happened thrice in his stay at Hogwarts before, and he didn't want to take a trip down _that _memory lane.

"Oi, Riddle, I'm really tired of being your personal postwoman, I am," said Rebecca flatly. "Why d'you think they don't just leave it at your desk or something of the sort?"

"Simple solution, Snyder – _don't_ accept the letters," said Tom simply, tossing the ridiculous envelope back to Rebecca, who refused to have it back in her hands again. He took another swift touch of the book beneath his robes, just to make sure that it was still there, and went to his dormitory.

xxx

Tom was very eager to read his newly acquired book from cover to cover. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he heard of the Founders' Book, and though he did not show the excitement running in his veins to Rebecca earlier, he was indeed getting impatient.

He locked his door quickly, muttering a few spells to it so that the girl residing across his room won't suddenly barge in. He flicked his wand to the candle, its wick promptly lighting up a flame. He then locked the windows up, and made sure every single hole leading to the outside of his room was blocked.

Tom sat down before his desk, eagerly anticipating the wonders that the book held by just looking at its old, torn cover. He couldn't even suppress a small smirk, and without further ado, he tried to flip the cover open.

Only to find himself skip a heartbeat at the sudden surge of magic into his fingertips.

The candle's flame flickered for a moment, and when it straightened its form again, the weird yet wonderful sensation faded away from his skin.

Tom's eyes drilled the book again, confused as to why the cover was somehow glued to the first page of the book. He lifted it up and tried to flip any page open, yet not one abided to his wish.

Frowning slightly and disappointedly, he studied the book's cover. It was made of parchment, just like the pages of the book, but it was slightly thicker and sturdier. Its brown edges were chipping away, and nothing was written on the cover. Tom narrowed his eyes, tilting and tipping the book around, when something on the cover caught his eye.

He tilted the book to the particular angle again, and when the light from the candle's flame hit the thick parchment, a single word written on the center of the cover shone. The scripted letters seemed to be written with clear ink, and it could only be read when a ray of light strikes it.

Rather awed at the clever ink, Tom read the word.

_C U TA_

The word had missing letters, so Tom decided to fill the spaces. He grabbed a piece of parchment, dipped his quill and scrawled hurriedly, filling up the missing letters to somehow fit the words.

It was only then that he noticed it was already very late when the candle's flame faded away, leaving his room bathed in only moonlight.

Tom took one last glance at the book. The letters written in clear ink could not be seen clearly in moonlight. He told himself that the Founders' Book can wait, and he retired to bed.

xxx

The sound of a heavy object colliding with the floor next door woke the Slytherin Head Boy up.

Tom sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes at the lack of sleep. He sat up and began pacing around to get prepared for the new day, completely assuming that it was Snyder making noise in the early morning again.

Slipping his foot in his right shoe, Tom stood up and lifted the spell he put on his door. When he swung it open, he was greeted by the sight of Rebecca reaching for her sock hanging from the chandelier.

"Oi, Riddle," the Head Girl said, trying to stretch her arm out to get a single touch of the chandelier. "A little help here?"

Once again, the girl had asked for _help _from him, of all people, and that rarely happened. Honestly, she had no sense of respect to _anyone _at all, thought Tom.

"Do you know, Snyder? I've always doubted whether you're truly pureblood or not. You certainly don't look like you were raised in such an environment."

A nerve popped on Rebecca's forehead, and she quickly threw a hard glare at him. "Why you bloody –"

xxx

"– git! Get me my sock back!" Alex yelled in his hoarse early-morning voice, racing Victor around the Gryffindor Tower.

Their loud voices and steps on the stone stairs echoed around the walls, vibrating throughout the whole tower. Alex could've sworn he heard someone shout 'SHUT UP!' from the girls' dormitory, and he very well knew who it was.

'_Speaking of Merlin,' _thought Alex, grinning tiredly as he heard a familiar voice's rant issuing from the Common Room. He immediately gestured Victor not to speak and they strained their ears.

"I _tell _you – I _am _going to go up there if you – _don't – shut – UP!"_ threatened Sarah.

With a reassuring grin thrown back at each other, Victor finally came down from the stairs to the boys' dormitory. "Why, good morning, Sarah!"

"_Don't_ you 'good morning' me! I was –"

As Sarah relayed her morning's tragedies to the both of them, she was unaware that Alex whispered to Victor's ear, "Someone's cranky today," and snickered afterwards.

"My, my," the three heard a wise voice, and Sarah quickly shut her own mouth.

There, standing just beside the portrait door, already clad in his cascading robes of crimson, eyes twinkling behind half-moon spectacles, was Gryffindor's Head Teacher, Albus Dumbledore. A small smile was lightening the burden of his aging features, and that was enough to keep the three nervous.

"Not fighting perhaps, Mr. Potter, Mr. Moon, Ms. Cromwell?" he said, his eyes cringing up cheerily.

"Certainly not, Professor!" said Victor with a small fake laugh, draping each of his arms around Sarah and Alex. "Right? _Right?"_

"Y – yes, of course, we're _not _fighting, Professor. We were just – um." Sarah secretly hit her elbow on Alex's arm.

"Yeah, Professor! We're definitely at peace! I mean, we've been best friends since first year, and – er . . ."

Professor Dumbledore smiled lightly. "I trust you are all in good terms?"

"Yes, Professor!" the trio said hastily.

"Very well." With that, he swung the portrait backward, taking one foot into the other, and the other after. He stopped abruptly from closing the portrait again, and his blue eyes pierced the Gryffindors who were watching him leave. "No more yelling early in the morning, am I making myself clear, you three?"

Again, they nodded, and when they were certain that Professor Dumbledore had already left, they dropped their behinds on the squashy armchairs. Silence drowned the awkward atmosphere, until somebody piped up.

"Um," a squeaky voice sounded.

A slightly plump figure appeared from the dark stairs towards the boys' dormitory. Alex turned his head around and recognized that the figure was someone in his class whose name he didn't know, but he was certain this was the same guy who never grew a backbone throughout his seven years in Hogwarts.

"Lewis?" asked Sarah. "Is that you?"

xxx

"Er – yes? Why did you ask? Is there a new pimple on my face?"

Over at a certain Hufflepuff girls' dormitory room, Katherineand Rowenastared at Selena, their faces holding back their obvious laughter.

Selena furrowed her brows. She tried to feel if there was anything nesting on her face with her fingertips. Surely with all the beauty products she used every single day, she won't get a disastrous pimple?

"No – no, that's not it, Selena!" Katherine laughed, gesturing with a flapping hand.

"Then _what _is it?" the blonde girl worriedly asked, panicking as she jumped off her bed and hurried towards the full-length mirror the girls shared at the corner of their room.

Staring in shock at her own reflection, Selena noticed the small trail of dried saliva beginning from the corner of her mouth, sloping halfway across her cheek.

"I – I," she stuttered, backing away from the mirror in disbelief.

"I've never thought you _drooled_, Sel! Why haven't you told us?" Rowena said between hidden fits of giggles.

Facing them with a childish pout, Selena said, "There's nothing hilarious about it! And it's just the first time!"

"Of course there isn't, dear," said Katherine, smiling. "I just hope Riddle won't hear about this. Oh Merlin, I can just imagine the look on his face –"

"Katherine Ann MacMillan! Don't you _dare _–" Selena started hotly.

After a few silent seconds of releasing the stress brimming inside the blonde, the three best friends drowned the room in joyous laughter.

Finally calming down after phases of mirth, casting a glance at each other if she was still laughing, and contagiously laughing loudly again, Rowena managed to slip in a somewhat 'urgent' topic to discuss with them.

"So, Sel," she started, garnering the girl's attention. "I believe it's about time you should know this."

Blinking, Selena furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

Cracking a mischievous smile, Rowena took a glance at Katherine, who was grinning back at her, and locked eyes with Selena seriously.

"We, Katherine and I, have done the honor of sending Riddle a proclamation of your undying love –"

The black haired girl snickered at their umpteenth use of the phrase.

"– through a finely-designed love letter, drenched in Madame LeAmour's latest perfume, which is _your _current perfume, _Love Me 'Til the Night Ends _–"

Katherine hid a fit of laughter at the obnoxious name.

Ignoring but inwardly agreeing with her, Rowena went on, "– for one whole week in a magical cauldron, sprinkled with enchanted glitter that sparkles like diamonds –"

"_Diamonds_?" scoffed Katherine under her breath, her face plastered with a hilarious expression.

"Katie," said Rowena flatly; the girl promptly stopped sniggering. The redheaded witch then turned to Selena.

"I think you must've already understood what we've meant, Sel, so . . . er, wait – are you mad at us?"

xxx

Victoria was not amused.

A number of admirers have had her right under their noses wherever she went throughout her years at Hogwarts. Few have lasted a week, very few lasted almost a month. But for some reason, only her brother and his cronies seemed to survive having her on their surveillance for _years._

It was already bothersome to have them around, but to have another one to downright follow her everywhere for what seemed a little more than a month, was another issue.

"Witherspoon," she said, sighing exasperatedly, and turning around. "I won't beat around the bush this time – _what _do you want?"

Squeaking almost instantly, Alana stumbled on the hem of her own robes and dropped on her bottom on the rather hard stone floor.

"N – nothing! I'm sorry to have disturbed you! I must be going!" With a rush of trying to balance herself once more, the mousy haired Ravenclaw girl ran away, stumbling again occasionally, until she went out of sight by turning into a corner.

Victoria never understood the stuttering girl. As far as she knew, she didn't have any friends, probably because her face wasn't a very flattering sight. She had known her ever since they were children, and they both grew up in the same Muggle suburban neighborhood. On their eleventh birthdays, however, it was the only time they got aware of their magical blood. Almost immediately, in a burst of interest and impatience to know more about the magical world, she had forced her parents to buy mountains of books on everything related to magic. On the other hand, her brother, Victor, tired himself to the bones by flying around with his broomstick on top of forests, which happened to be their backyard.

Shaking her thoughts away, she went on to her first class, History of Magic.

It wasn't very much like Victoria to dislike anything academic; but to admit it, she never had the spark of listening to the continuous drone of Professor Binns. She would have rather read their thick tome of a textbook.

She entered the classroom, and immediately – as it always had – the drowsy atmosphere dropped on her like a warm, cozy blanket. Dust motes swirled in the morning light from the dusty windows. Taking the empty seat beside the ceiling-high window, she took out the thick volume of _Hogwarts, A History_, and began reading where she had left a few days ago.

_Chapter 42_, the miniscule words on the thin parchment read. _The Myths of Hogwarts_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry holds, as everyone who has known it thoroughly, and even to those who do not, a curious amount of myths and secrets hidden within its halls and corridors. Well hidden as most of them are, they are, however, a few that has been rumored to exist. The founders of Hogwarts held a specially mysterious bond to this magical school, and for countless times, it has been theorized that the Hogwarts Four has indeed left their marks in this school, other than naming the Houses from themselves._

_One particular, and quite popular, myth is the so-called Chamber of Secrets, which have been_

"Good morning, class," the all-too familiar whirr of their ghost teacher, Professor Binns, echoed throughout the high-ceilinged classroom, disrupting Victoria's reading.

The transparent form of their teacher looked almost invisible, since the windows brimmed much morning light from outside. Victoria could almost feel her drowsiness tempting her to close her eyes.

"Good morning, Professor Binns," the whole class replied, and after a few minutes or so, the classroom fell into soft snores and their teacher's monotone lecture.

xxx

September passed by like the cold winds sweeping the Quidditch pitch.

Alex trudged sluggishly into the Great Hall, below his bloodshot eyes lay sagging dark skin.

He climbed onto his seat at the Gryffindor table, in between Sarah and Victor.

Sarah frowned at the sight of him, while Victor casually chewed on his bread, glancing for a millisecond at bespectacled Quidditch Captain.

"Alex, how many times have I told you –" Sarah started, only to be interrupted when Alex raised a hand at her.

"I know, Sarah, I know. 'Don't do all-night practice before Quidditch matches.' But I can't help it! I get paranoid if I don't get enough practice and what if the next day –"

"We have nothing to worry about," said Victor suddenly, grinning.

"Sorry?" asked Sarah.

"He's been doing that ever since he joined the Quidditch team in second year. We already have solid proof: when he stumps himself in the pitch all night long, Gryffindor wins."

"Well, that's _slightly _true, but d'you remember when he did that and Gryffindor _still _lost? It happened five times already! He practically stayed up until four in the morning and –"

"Sarah, Sarah," said Victor, patting her back reassuringly. "Look at him," he gestured at Alex. "Doesn't he give off those 'I'm-winning-today's-match' vibes?"

"No," said Sarah stiffly. "I'm feeling more of his 'I'm-losing-today's-match' vibes."

Victor clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Trust him, he's got Gryffindor's blood in him, the lucky bloke." Then he ushered Alex towards him, who spilled pumpkin juice down his front as he swayed like a willow tree.

"Come on, Alexander Potter, declare to the world what you've got! 'I HAVE GRYFFINDOR'S BLOOD IN ME AND I'LL STOMP THE RAVENCLAWS TODAY!'"

Unsurprisingly, Victor captured the attention of the entire Great Hall, including the teachers. He caught sight of Professor Dumbledore's piercing blue stare at him, smiled back uncertainly, and quickly tried to warn Alex, but he was too late.

"I HAVE GRYFFINDOR'S BLOOD IN ME AND I'LL STOMP THE RAVENCLAWS TODAY! AY! Yay . . . Merlin's hairy underarm, I don't think I've ever yelled that loud before –"

"POTTER!" Headmaster Dippet called.

xxx

And stomp the Ravenclaws he did, for the first Quidditch match of the season, the scores were 250 to 60.

Spectators brimmed away from the stadium as Alex stayed for a long warm shower in the locker room. He was the only one left there, and Sarah and Victor were probably already preparing the party at the common room. By the time he went out of the locker room, the whole stadium was silent.

Merlin, he was going to miss this pitch, thought Alex as he scanned the whole empty area. His eyes trailed over the green grass swaying with the soft breeze, then to the tall hoops shining under the sun, until his hazel eyes spotted a certain someone by the stalls.

'_Vicky!'_ he cheered inwardly, scheming up a plan inside his mind.

Victoria was indeed there, a thick Ravenclaw scarf around her neck and a quill and parchment on her hands. She was all by herself at the seats, a bag and a stack of books beside her. Very absorbed in her homework, she didn't notice the all-too-obvious footfalls of Alex, who _thought_ he was tiptoeing flawlessly.

When he was exactly behind her, he savored the sight of her back view. Victoria's hair was long and, by the looks of it, very soft. He unexpectedly snaked an arm over her shoulders, earning quite a jump from the Ravenclaw.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked accusingly, holding her homework close to her chest.

Alex laughed nervously, sighing mentally at his failed attempt. "I was just – you know, looking around, thinking that I might miss this place and all."

Victoria didn't reply, instead, she hastily put back all her things inside her bag and walked away hurriedly. When she heard Alex starting to follow her again, she stopped abruptly.

"Don't ever do that again," she said gravely.

With that, Alex felt something important inside of him crack.

xxx

Evening fell over Hogwarts as the night breeze caused Tom to tighten his scarf.

He looked over the Astronomy Tower's low walls to take a look at the dark horizon. The night was young, but it was already freezing cold. Winter is coming fast this year, he thought, packing his books.

He descended down the stairs, barely anticipating Slughorn's invite to another gathering of his. He walked all the way to the dungeons, where Slughorn's office was. As he did, he passed by the large open doors of the Great Hall. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he had no idea why it was pestering him.

"_I HAVE GRYFFINDOR'S BLOOD IN ME AND I'LL STOMP THE RAVENCLAWS TODAY!"_

Tom shook the ridiculous thought away. So what if the Potter boy was Gryffindor's descendant? All that mattered to him that was related to the Hogwarts' Four's descendants was that _he _was one of them, though he didn't inherited it from a worthy stock that actually _cared _for him.

When he finally reached the dungeons' corridors, he stopped short before a grayish brown door and knocked three times.

The door promptly swung open and revealed Slughorn in clothes that were _fancier_, not to mention worse, than usual. He had a huge, almost drunk-looking grin on his chubby face, and he was holding out a hand towards the room.

"Tom, m'boy! I see you never get tired of my parties, eh?"

"Of course, sir," Tom said slowly with a cunning smile. "They are always . . . engaging."

"Well then, come inside, m'boy! I'd like to introduce you to a few new members tonight, and I believe they'll make _excellent _connections once you've graduated."

Slughorn trudged his way inside the little room, a few of his guests occasionally squeezing themselves to the wall just to make way for him. He settled on his personal squashy armchair on the head of the rectangular table and swallowed a piece of crystallized pineapple before clearing his throat.

"All right then, before anything else, introductions!" he announced cheerily, bouncing on his armchair. He then gestured to a chubby brown haired boy from Gryffindor, and the boy quickly sunk in his seat. "Matthew Lewis! His father's a _dashing _Auror! Order of Merlin First Class! And from quite a lowly lot too! I bet you're very proud of your father, eh, Lewis?"

Matthew stammered in his seat, shakily nodding and avoiding anyone's gaze.

Slughorn went on, and gestured to a girl with long blond hair from Hufflepuff. "Selena Smith, a _direct _descendant of Hufflepuff! You've got the traits, lass. You even resemble Helga Hufflepuff, just compare your eyes to hers in her pictures in Hogwarts, A History! We're very honored, Smith!"

"Erm, the pleasure's mine, Professor," Selena replied, smiling unsurely. Tom was quite certain that she had been stealing glances from him since he first stepped foot in the room.

"It is, m'girl," Slughorn nodded.

xxx

Rebecca looked up from her homework and stared at the common room's front door swinging open. Tom came in, looking exhausted, and the two exchanged tired glances at each other before he took his silver and green scarf off his neck and placed it over the sofa's armrest.

He went inside his room quietly, leaving Rebecca irritated, yet again.

"No usual greetings, Riddle?" she said loudly. "Nothing at all?"

But Tom paid no mind. He went back to his desk where the tattered book made of parchment lay unopened. He had spent his free time earlier in the day reading on anything and everything on magical codes and encryptions. So far, the nearest he had come to was an old method of decrypting ancient symbols engraved on books, and the steps weren't even comprehensible.

He tilted the book to the candle's light again, and the scripted word written in clear ink was still there. Tom slowly brushed his fingertips over the word.

_C U TA_

Unexpectedly, one of the letters peeled off from the parchment at his touch. Though Tom only felt it lightly, something stirred inside him, then another idea came to his mind.

He peeled the words off of the parchment's surface. It turned out that it wasn't written in clear ink, but some sort of glue. He supposed that the clear, sticky substance was used by the quill instead of ink. Now, the space where the words were supposed to be just a few seconds ago revealed an interesting word.

The dust was thicker outside of the letters, thus revealing a word that was supposed to be his only clue to opening the book.

_CRUSTA_, Tom read, immediately identifying it as Latin for 'peel.'

Now that he had accomplished the first task to getting the Founders' Necklace, he flipped the book's cover in anticipation. When the book faced him open, a thrilling magical air breezed on his face. Tom felt thousands of years of ancient magic pass through his face, and he wasted no more time.

The first page held two phrases written in faded black ink.

_He who has the blood of one of the four holds the power._

_He who has the trust of the three will hold the power forever._

It was amusingly simple and literal, Tom thought, reading the passages again.

He _had _the blood of one of the Hogwarts' Four, so he definitely held this certain power. All he had to do now was the garner the trust of the other three to hold the power forever.


End file.
